It's a rare Cincinnati sports fan who wouldn't relish the opportunity to give officials from the National Football League and Major League Baseball - and their players unions - a piece of his mind.

John Cranley is no exception.

So when lawyers for the two leagues and their players appeared Tuesday before City Council's Finance Committee, the chairman just couldn't resist a steady stream of wisecracks and one-liners during a mostly serious two-hour discussion of the so-called "jock tax."

The lawyers, who had flown in from Boston and Washington just for the occasion, were not amused. A sampling:

Mr. Cranley: "So you really represent the players unions?"

Stephen Kidder, Major League Players Association lawyer: "That's correct."

Mr. Cranley: "Wow. And you're from Boston? You do realize, don't you, that the Reds won the 1975 World Series? Most people I've met from Boston don't know that."

Mr. Kidder: "Yes, I know."

Mr. Cranley: "Are you aware that there's a (county) commissioner across town who has expressed some question as to whether we have a professional football team in Cincinnati?"

Jeffrey L. White, NFL tax lawyer: "That's a nice joke. They are a professional team, and they're doing everything they can to win."

Mr. Cranley: "It's touching when the players association can share a table with Major League Baseball and come together on revenue sharing. Neither one of you wants to share your revenue with us."

Stephen M. Nechemius of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, representing the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball: (no response).

Mr. Cranley: "One last question. Does the players association have a position on the very important issue of whether Pete Rose should be reinstated?"

Mr. Kidder (standing up): "It was a pleasure to appear before you today, Mr. Chairman."

Your tax money: To date, the city of Cincinnati has written checks totaling $800,000 to Saks Fifth Avenue under a $6.6 million incentive package to spruce up the downtown department store, according to a recent memo from City Manager Valerie Lemmie.

Most of the new fixtures - including new shoe racks and designer shelves - won't be installed until Jan. 20 - after the holiday shopping season and nearly a year after City Council approved the grant in a controversial 5-4 vote.

Comings and goings: Cheryl Meadows, former Department of Neighborhood Services director who was reassigned in the wake of the 2000 Genesis Redevelopment scandal, will retire at the end of the year, Ms. Lemmie said. The office she now manages - the Employment and Training Division - will move to the Department of Community Development in the city manager's office, where Susan Paddock will take over as manager.

Ralph Rennecker has been appointed acting director of the city's General Services Department, with oversight of the convention center, computer operations and the city fleet. He replaces Kevin Shepard, who resigned for personal reasons.

Quotable: "These guys didn't seem to be idiots. They knew what was going on in the city, and they recognized my name. ... These guys need to pay their dues first, but if we're going to be serious about solving problems in the city, we need to allow them to re-enter society."

- Councilman and Yale Alumnus David Pepper on the two men who abducted him in Mount Adams Oct. 17, as quoted in the Yale Herald.

Cincinnati City Hall reporter Gregory Korte can be reached at 768-8391 or gkorte@enquirer.com